Tsunami survivor signs for Sporting Lisbon in dream move

LISBON — An Indonesian who as a child survived the 2004 earthquake-tsunami that hit his country and was found wearing a Portugal football jersey is joining Sporting Lisbon’s training academy, reported the Associated Press.

Martunis, a 17-year-old who goes by a single name, said at a club gala late Thursday (yesterday morning, Singapore time) that being at Sporting, where he will join the club’s under-19 side, was “a dream come true”.

“Martunis will work at the academy,” Sporting president Bruno de Carvalho was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph yesterday.

“We will work with him also in his development as a human being and as a man. Helping to make dreams come true and others to live decent lives honours the mission of the club and its place in society.”

Martunis was discovered alone several weeks after his mother and two siblings were killed and his home was destroyed in the disaster that killed more than 200,000 people. His father survived.

Martunis had reportedly survived for three weeks on noodles and drinking water from puddles before he was reunited with his father and grandfather.

He captured public sympathy in Portugal because of the national team jersey he was wearing.

The Portuguese Football Federation donated €40,000 (S$59,815) to his family and brought him to a Portugal game in Europe.

Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo, who started his career at Sporting, had heard of Martunis’ story and pledged to pay for the teenager’s education and an invitation had been extended to him to visit the club’s training ground. AGENCIES